In modern radar networks aiming at surveillance applications, the combination of a growing number of features to face up a growing number of needs is the new challenge. The demands for better performances, faster reaction in more complex environments foster this approach. Namely, the new scenario has to circumvent electromagnetic interferences while compounding with vital resources like Doppler estimation and High Range Resolution (HRR).
The electromagnetic frequency band under use can be subject to degradation, misleading the comprehension of the environment. As a consequence, the presence of targets may not be detected. This is one of the technical problems that the present invention aims at solving. In a short range radar network for example, the source of this degradation can be either channel imperfections or mutual interferences between neighboring telecom stations. In the prior art, this situation is best avoided when the radar carrier frequency swaps within a band from emission to emission, just like in the concept of cognitive radio.
The Doppler effect is by nature a scaling of the carrier frequency proportionally to the radial speed of the target. In the prior art, when the waveform is a pulse burst or a train of pulses, the Doppler frequency is commonly obtained after comparing the phase of the received echoes with that of the local oscillator; at least when the same carrier is used along the burst. However, if the carrier frequency changes, the Doppler frequency changes accordingly and the conventional Fourier analysis is no longer adapted to perform the Doppler processing. In that respect, in the common solutions from the prior art, frequency agility and Doppler processing have always been isolated in different operational modes. This is one of the technical problems that the present invention aims at solving.
After detection, the decision to regard a target as a friend or as a foe implies that enough information over the target is known. Such a thorough radar signature is obtained when the system has a high resolution. If the processing in the receiver responsible for the range is based on the Pulse Compression (PC) technique known from the prior art, basic range resolution in the sense of the system is equivalent to wide bandwidth in the sense of the waveform. In that respect, in the common solutions from the prior art, frequency agility and HRR have always been isolated in different operational modes. This is one of the technical problems that the present invention aims at solving.
Until now, only few Mono-Carrier radar systems have been supporting frequency agility together with Doppler processing and HRR. None has ever merged them into one single operational mode. This is one of the technical problems that the present invention aims at solving.
The emergence of Multi-Carriers (MC) signals in the communications has invited the radar community to focus on these novel digital waveforms and analyze their radar properties.
Developments for ground penetrating radar applications have made use of Multi-Carrier stepped-frequency waveforms to synthesize a wide bandwidth. In that concept, each pulse consists of several widely spaced frequencies produced by different IF frequencies. The method is detailed in the article “A Multi Frequency Radar for Detecting Landmines: Design Aspects and Electrical Performance” (P. van Genderen and al., in Proceedings European Microwave Conference 2001, October 2001). However, this article focuses on HRR, it does not even address the issue of frequency agility.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,588 B1 reports investigations on the Multi-Carrier Phase Coded (MCPC) waveform. It is demonstrated that the MCPC structure offers opportunities to lower the autocorrelation sidelobes and therefore enhances detection capabilities. However, this patent does not even address the issue of frequency agility.
The most famous MC waveform is the so-called Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) waveform, which is simply generated by means of Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT), a digital technique that makes it extremely flexible. OFDM has been suggested for ultra wideband wireless communication standard 802.11a. In the article “Frequency Agility in OFDM Active Radar” (P. Tran, MSc Thesis, October 2006) the same OFDM or MCPC waveform is used to introduce the concept of digital MC agile waveform. Various agility patterns are suggested and tested. Several criteria such as spectrum occupation, cross-correlation, resolution in range and Doppler estimation are used to assess the best agile waveform for radars. This article deals with frequency agility, however it does not address the issue of combining frequency agility with Doppler processing or HRR.